Bsa how to protect your child pamphlet
For National Child Abuse Prevention Month, let’s review the BSA’s tool that helps parents have important conversations with their children
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services designates April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month to recognize “the importance of families and communities working together … to prevent child abuse and neglect.”
This makes April a good time to have some crucial conversations with your children with the help of the youth protection-themed booklets in the handbooks of every BSA program.
The first thing you need to know: These BSA youth protection themed booklets are a tool for all of Scouting’s parents. Because the BSA knows how important this conversation is, reviewing these pamphlets with your children is part of the BSA’s advancement requirements.
For example, Requirement No. 7 of the Bobcat badge, the first badge a Cub Scout of any age (except Lions) earns when they join the BSA, reads: “With your parent or guardian, complete the exercises in the pamphlet How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide. ”
That requirement is repeated for every Cub Scout rank from Tigers to Arrow of Light. Then, to earn the rank of Scout, the first rank earned in Scouts BSA, you’ll have to complete requirement No. 6, which refers youth and their families to the parent’s guide written with older kids in mind.
What makes these books so important?
It says it right there in the introduction:
The following information is offered to help your family establish and maintain a safe environment where you can prevent your child or another child from being abused.
What it’s about
Abuse and neglect can be a difficult topic to discuss with your children.
But research shows that children whose parents talk to them about preventing abuse are better able to protect themselves and are more likely to tell if they are experiencing abuse or have been abused in the past.
Full disclosure: I am the father of a child (now a young man) who started as a Tiger and advanced through the rank of Scout and beyond. We went through the activities and discussions in the parent’s guides multiple times. If we can do it, you can, too.
The booklets are organized and written with the goal of opening the door to this difficult discussion.
The first section contains information for parents about child abuse and some tips for talking with your child about child abuse. The second section features discussion exercises for you and your child to do together.
These exercises will help you discuss topics such as:
- Why your child should check with you before going anywhere with another person.
- Choosing the trusted adults your child can turn to.
- Understanding our personal boundaries.
- What your child should do if someone asks them to keep a secret.
Why it’s worth it
In the end, the parents’ guides encourage the idea that this conversation is the first step toward what should be a long and healthy dialogue within your family about personal safety awareness.
In future posts this month, we’ll share additional resources you can use as you continue these discussions.
Maybe the most significant takeaway from this whole thing? The topics and exercises in the parent’s guides, along with the rules, regulations and requirements described in the BSA’s Barriers of Abuse, can provide valuable knowledge and safeguards for every family member who takes part in any group activity, inside or outside of Scouting.
These vital conversations can help our children — and each of us — be more prepared to recognize, respond to and report child abuse.
012 – Completing Your Scout’s Youth Protection Training Requirements – Cub Scout Pack 457
In this episode of the Cubmaster Minute, we’ll discuss how to complete the two youth protection requirements for your Scout’s rank.
Reference Information
Hi everyone, Mr. Maloney here for the Cubmaster Minute presented by Pack 457 in Zelienople, PA. With school out for the Holidays and our Scout’s spending more time with Family and friends, it is a great time to work on completing the two youth protection requirements needed for your Scout to earn their next rank. These two requirements are:
- With your parent, guardian, or other caring adult, complete the exercises in the pamphlet entitled How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide
- Scouts not working toward their Lion Rank also need to earn the Cyber Chip award for their age OR Earn the Protect Yourself Rules Preview Adventure for their rank.
Both requirements are important parts of the Boy Scouts of America’s comprehensive Youth Protection policies. Some portions of these requirements can be completed in a Den Meeting. However, completing these requirements can generate discussions with your Scout that are best discussed with a parent or guardian first.
We want to make sure that your positions and perspectives are reflected in these discussions.
Let’s talk about how to complete these requirements: With your parent, guardian, or other caring adult, complete the exercises in the pamphlet entitled How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide:
- Parents should read the Youth Protection pamphlet that is included at the front of your Scout’s Handbook. (An online version is available in the show notes.)
- Discuss the questions at the end of the pamphlet with your Scout. Make sure they understand what the BSA’s policies are regarding youth protection.
Earn the Cyber Chip award for their age OR Earn the Protect Yourself Rules Preview Adventure for their rank:
- The BSA is in the process of phasing out the Cyber Chip award and many of the videos necessary to earn the award are no longer available, so we’re encouraging our Scouts to earn the Protect Yourself Rules adventure.
- There are five requirements as part of the Protect Yourself Rules Adventure:
- 1. Watch the “Protect Yourself” video lessons for this adventure.
- 2. Know the six Protect Yourself Rules.
- 3. Describe what cyberbullying is and identify things you should never tell about yourself to others when online.
- 4. Describe three ways to get out of a situation with someone who is making you feel unsafe.
- 5. List five safe adults you could tell if someone has made you feel unsafe.
Now there are a few frequently asked questions about these requirements:
- Does my Scout need to complete these requirements every year? Well, yes your Scout is expected to complete these requirements every year in order to advance in rank. This helps to keep these policies and practices fresh in your and your Scout’s minds.
- My Scout earned their Bobcat this year, do I need to complete these activities again so they can earn their next Rank? No.
These requirements only need to be completed once per year. Your Den Leader will mark these requirements as complete for both the Bobcat AND your Scout’s next rank. - What do I do when my Scout and I have completed these requirements? Once you’ve completed the requirements, you can mark them as completed in Scoutbook (check out the link in the description for a video explaining that process) or you can let me or your Scout’s Den Leader know the requirements are complete.
We at Pack 457, English Lutheran Church (our Charter Organization) and the entire Boy Scouts of America organization take the safety and well-being of our Scouts (and anyone who participates in our program) to be of the utmost importance. Please DO NOT HESITATE to reach out to any other member of the Pack Leadership Team if you have any questions about these policies and how they are applied in our Pack.
Thank you in advance for your help in reinforcing the importance of following our Youth Protection Rules and until next time, stay safe and stay Scouting!
Experts told how to protect your child from strangers – Moscow 24, 09/06/2022
Cases when children obediently go somewhere with strangers are not uncommon.
Unfortunately, such situations often end in sad consequences. We tell how parents can protect their child from strangers.
Get ready to work
Photo: depositphotos/annadanilkova
Many parents believe that their children will not leave with strangers. But at the same time, adults cannot explain what their confidence is based on, security expert Katerina Sobkalova told Moscow.
"Just telling a child 100 times: 'You can't go away with strangers,' will not make him safe. You have to work with children: give them time, not shout and forbid, but find the strength to talk calmly, to explain and even work out in advance what to do in dangerous situations. It is difficult, but this is the only way to achieve something," she warned.
Psychologist Elena Buryeva also noted that parents tend to perceive themselves and their children as one and think: if they understand some things, then they are obvious to their son or daughter.
But a child is a separate person, and he does not know how everything works in the world.
Therefore, he must be taught absolutely everything, including the rules by which he can live quite safely and comfortably.
It is necessary to train from about one year of age. Every time, walking with the baby on the playground, start explaining to him: he must first ask you if it is possible or not, if someone wants to give him something, give him, show him, or he decided to go somewhere, even very close, from the site.
Elena Buryeva
child psychologist
Asking adults' permission is a very important safety rule. If you introduce it from a very early age, it will become the norm for the child. He will continue to follow it on the machine, even when he starts walking on his own. This will be taken for granted, and not cause protest and questions about why the child is obliged to report to the parents.
Talk about personal boundaries
Photo: depositphotos/expsycholog.gmail.com
From the age of three, it is important to introduce a child to social circles and talk about personal boundaries.
You can draw them directly on the floor or on the pavement with chalk.
Draw the first circle around the child's legs. Explain that he is in the center of his life - in it the baby is the most important. The thoughts and actions of the child also belong only to him, the psychologist explained.
In addition, no one may touch or kiss the baby without permission. Just like he has no right to touch someone who does not want to.
Ask the child to extend their arm and take a little more than half of it into the next circle. He is the closest, his family. Usually it is only mom, dad, brother, sister, sometimes grandparents.
Be sure to tell them that in every family there are secrets and secrets that cannot be told to anyone, even if they ask. For example, about when parents leave and return home, how the apartment opens, whether the baby is left alone, and so on.
Friends in the next circle. The palm of the child will fall into it, and this means that they are still close.
You can’t discuss family secrets with them, but you can hug if they don’t mind.
Then draw a circle - acquaintances. It includes neighbors, a friend's mother, and so on. The child's palm no longer reaches this circle, which means that they must be restrained with them. We see these people very often, we greet them, we can ask how things are going. But we do not tell them secrets and do not hug them.
Another circle - professions. Tell your child who the police officers, rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, doctors are. Explain that, despite the rule "my body is my business," if trouble happened and you need help, you need to trust these specialists. Their mission is to save the lives and health of others.
Elena Buryevaya
child psychologist
In the last circle we have strangers, there are a lot of them. But you shouldn't scare your child. It is better to say that most likely they are all good. However, there are among them those who can hurt and hurt others.
It is very difficult to recognize them, because most often they do not look like villains. Therefore, the child does not need to communicate with strangers without adults from the "family" circle.
The specialist reminded parents to be careful not to allow inconsistency in safety rules.
"Here's a common situation for you: adults explain to a child that it is dangerous to leave with strangers, and then they take him to an entertainment center and immediately leave him with a complete stranger - an animator. The kid no longer understands how the rules that he was told about work in life,” says the psychologist.
In this particular case, it is important to give the child time. He must see: the parents met with the animator and made sure that the baby would be safe. Only after that they were allowed to go with an employee of the entertainment center.
Make algorithms of actions
Photo: depositphotos/kurgu128.mail.ru
The child should have not only a clear division into "friends and foes" adults, but also an understanding of which category and how to act safely for themselves, noted Sobkalov.
Our own are close people, there are very few of them. They are engaged in the upbringing of the child, they are trusted by the parents. You can help your own, it is safe to leave with them and take treats from them.
Do not include family friends, mother's best friend, and so on in the "friends" category. These people are from the category "familiar, but strangers." You can help them or leave with them, only with the permission of "their own".
Katerina Sobkalova
security expert
A child has the right not to help strangers, and the parent must give him permission to do so. It is important to speak clearly with the baby: if someone from strangers approached him and asked him to hold the car door, carry the bags to the bench, help get the kitten that ran away, and so on, then he has the right to answer to "ask another adult" and leave .
The child should know the rule that children are not usually asked for help.
Learn to assess the situation
Another important skill that parents should teach their children is to distinguish between dangerous and safe situations. This should become a habit for them.
"You won't be able to teach this if you just name different situations. It's better to ask questions: "If you come close to the barbecue, is it dangerous?", "And if a stranger offers you something to drink?" Then ask to clarify why this is so what can happen and how to act to stay safe. Help him answer, "Sobkalova advised.
Gradually the child will learn to evaluate situations and behave appropriately in them. Grandmother on the street will offer a candy, he will simply refuse and go for a walk further. An unfamiliar girl will drive up in a car, open the trunk and ask for help to carry the boxes to the third floor. The child realizes that the situation can be dangerous, it is necessary to refuse and increase the distance.
If a friend asks for help - a friend's mother, a father's colleague, a coach from the last section, and so on - the child will automatically say: "Now I will call my parents and warn them.
" Even if a person had bad thoughts, he will understand that adults are aware of the whereabouts of the baby.
Katerina Sobkalova
security expert
The ability to assess the situation will be useful for a child not only in terms of communicating with strangers, but also in other cases. For example, when he wants to play with knives, matches or scissors, when he is called to the garages, they offer him something to eat or drink.
Let me say "no"
Photo: depositphotos/belchonock
The main reason why children leave with strange adults is that they simply cannot refuse them.
"Firstly, there is an age peculiarity. A child under eight years old has all the adults in authority. Given this, parents should not let their children go out alone. They can walk without their parents, but then they must be in the company of their peers," Buryevaya warned .
It's also about education. In our society, it is customary from childhood to repeat to a person like a mantra: "don't shout, be quiet, behave yourself.
" Is it any wonder then that a child obediently fulfills such requests of a stranger.
In a moment of danger, a child needs the emotion of anger. But it is her parents who most often suppress in their children, categorically forbidding them to scream and get angry.
The emotion of anger is the main vital energy, power, an indicator of violation of boundaries. By suppressing this emotion, we take away from the child a sense of his own power. He becomes unsure of himself, anxious, controllable. If he is offered to go somewhere, he will not be able to say no.
Elena Buryeva
child psychologist
In order not to suppress the child's emotions, do not ask him to stop, shut up, calm down, no matter how uncomfortable and unpleasant he behaves. The best option is to use the reflection technique. To do this, you just need to voice the emotions that he is probably experiencing to the baby: “You are screaming because you are scared or you just don’t like it.
”
Parents need to be patient, because this technique will not help the child to calm down, but will give him the opportunity to live emotions, and they will not be suppressed.
A baby is born with the ability to draw attention to itself in times of danger. The task of the parents is not to drown her out. Do not ask to be silent when he screams, but calmly say: "I can hear you. Are you attracting my attention?"
Parents have to choose. Or now talk a lot with the child and explain everything, so that later he would be independent and self-sufficient. Or simply force, forbid, and then there will always be a risk that he will not be able to assess the dangerous situation, refuse and protect himself.
Katerina Sobkalova
security expert
A child can say "no" in society when he has the right to an opinion in the family. If a student does not do his homework, we usually shout and force him. But it’s better to say that he has the right to refuse, while let him give three arguments why he doesn’t want to do his homework.
In response, three reasons should be given why it is still worth doing. The conversation may be long, but the child will have a choice and he will have to make it himself.
Of course, children should be told in advance that if a stranger takes you by the hand and leads you somewhere, you should fall sharply, kick, bite and scream - to attract attention to yourself with all your might.
Katerina Sobkalova
security expert
It is best to work out such situations. With preschool children - on toys. For example, if a girl is playing - she is a doll, you take a bear, say: "Come with me" - and see how she will react. Further, you help to play the plot correctly, the expert emphasized.
At the age of 6-7, children can already be sent to safety training. But in any case, they need to be further practiced. Pull the child by the hand and ask what he will do if a stranger tries to take him away like this. It is very important that he can repeat the algorithm of actions in real life.
Troshina Lyubov
societychildren
How to protect your child from criminal encroachments
02/14/2017
suspicious acquaintances await. Children are gullible and careless, and a criminal can find the right key to any child. This is what "dangerous uncles" use. Most often, children become victims of crime because they are not familiar with the rules of safe behavior. Memorize this memo with your child. We really hope that your daughter or son will not have to apply these rules in life. But if such a situation arises, then a firm "NO" said to an unfamiliar man who asked to show the way will save the child from tragedy.
WHERE WILL THE BABY BE WAITING?
ENTRY
It is in the entrances of high-rise buildings that the villains of small victims most often wait. Explain to the child: when approaching the house, he should pay attention to whether someone is following him. If a stranger is nearby, you don’t need to approach the entrance, let the child stay a little longer on the street.
If the suspicious man does not leave, then proceed as follows:
- have the child call the parents on the intercom or cell phone to be taken away from the street, while explaining that they are afraid of the suspicious person;
- if the student nevertheless entered the entrance, and the stranger was already there, then let the child go outside and wait for the parents or one of the adult residents of the house;
- explain to the child that it is dangerous to leave the apartment at the landing at a later time. If your daughter or son is responsible for taking out the garbage, then this is best done in the morning. Tell your child: in case of a sudden attack, you can defend yourself in any way, at the first opportunity you need to run away, shout loudly and call for help.
ELEVATOR
The child must clearly understand that it is possible to enter the elevator if there is no stranger on the platform who will enter the cabin after him.
If a stranger is already in the called elevator, you do not need to enter the cabin. Explain to the child: if a suspicious person nevertheless entered the elevator and the doors closed, then let the child press the next floor button to jump out faster and wait for the empty elevator. Let the child not be afraid to look stupid if he made a mistake in the intentions of a person, much more important is his safety.
If a stranger has attempted on a small victim by holding her in an elevator, explain the following rules to the child:
ALIEN'S CAR
A car is not only a means of transportation, it can also become a crime scene. The child must clearly understand: it is impossible to get into someone else's car, even if a woman is driving or in the cabin. In order not to become a victim, being in someone else's car, the child must adhere to the following rules:
- do not take a passing car, it is better to use the services of an official taxi, ask the attendants to write down the car number, brand, driver's name and inform the parents about it. If the child has a cell phone, let him constantly talk with relatives and tell the route of movement;
- if the driver starts showing interest, the child should ask him to stop the car. If this requirement is not met, let the child try to do everything to draw the attention of other drivers to the car or the attention of a police officer if the intersection is patrolled.
- explain that the child should not agree to the driver's offer to take fellow travelers, and if he insists, you must get out of the car.
You cannot get into a tinted car, as well as into a car in which passengers are already sitting.
STREET
Tell your child how to behave on the street, where many dangers await us even during the day:
- if you have to walk alone in the evening, you need to walk quickly and confidently, without showing fear. You can approach a woman who inspires confidence, or an elderly couple and walk beside them;
- in a bus, tram, electric train, you need to sit closer to the driver or driver, get out of the car at the last moment, without showing in advance that the next stop is yours;
- at night, walk down the street in a group of people who got off the bus, train. Do not "vote" on the road, do not respond to an offer to give a lift, in no case get into a car to show the way. Seeing a group of people or a drunk ahead, it is better to cross to the other side of the street or change the route;
- it is always necessary to warn relatives where you are going and ask them to meet you in the evening;
- if they ask how to find the street, explain how to get there, but in no case see them off.
Explain to the child what to do if a stranger pesters:
- don't wait to be grabbed, run away to a side where there are a lot of people;
- if possible, throw something in the attacker's face (eg, a briefcase, a bag of shoes, a handful of change) to confuse and distract him for a while;
- if you clamp your mouth with your hand - bite your hand, use any means at hand: a pen, a comb or keys (stick it into the leg or arm of the attacker), heel (strongly stomp your heel on the stranger's leg). As soon as the attacker loosens his grip, run away.
YOUR HOME
Your child must clearly learn the following rules of behavior at home: Only people you know well are allowed into the apartment. Leaving the apartment, you also need to look into the peephole. If there are people on the landing, wait until they leave;
It is strictly forbidden to let a stranger into the apartment. If they brought a telegram or a bill for which you need to sign, then only adults can do this. You don't need to open the door. The child must say that he must come later, when the adults are at home. The same goes for the electrician and plumber. Even if the lights suddenly went out at home or a pipe burst, the child should call his parents and find out what to do.
FAMILY TYRANTS
An analysis of this type of crime shows that most of those who infringe on the sexual inviolability of children are people from the child’s close circle: father, stepfather, brother, uncle, neighbor, close friend of the family.
Such family secrets, as a rule, are revealed only when children decide to take extreme measures: they try to commit suicide, they run away from home. At best, the vigilant teacher notices the child's withdrawn behavior. Children usually hide these terrible facts because they subconsciously feel guilty.
The seducer assures that they will stop loving you if they find out about what happened. That is why such precedents can be repeated repeatedly. Due to their age, children do not even understand that something bad is happening to them, and therefore they do not immediately turn to another parent (more often to their mother) or close relatives for help.
If a child talks about your husband's (partner's) or other relative's unhealthy interest in him, listen to his words. Sometimes some mothers do not believe such statements by the child, attributing everything to childish jealousy, others suspect the inclinations of the roommate, but do not want to believe it. Remember - there is nothing more precious than the happiness of your own child. Any child can apply to law enforcement agencies. Moreover, according to the law, a case of molestation of a minor can be initiated without a statement if this fact became known from other sources. Explain to the child - if for some reason he does not have the opportunity to go to the police, he should contact his mother, friends, well-known neighbors, teachers.
BETWEEN US GIRLS
Teenage girls who begin to actively communicate with their peers, visit youth companies, should be prepared for the fact that they will be considered old enough so that intimate relationships do not stop only at kissing.
In a confidential conversation, explain to your teenage daughter that most sexual assaults are committed not by random people, but by friends, acquaintances, and even relatives. More than half of the rapes occur not in a dark alley of a park or an unlit entrance, but at the victim's home or at a party, often after drinking alcohol in a company.
Going to a party, you must remember the following rules of conduct:
- consent to go to a cafe (to a disco, to visit home) is often regarded by young men as a signal that after that the girl is ready for intimacy, and further resistance is perceived as a game ;
- if there is an uncomfortable feeling, do not be shy.
